How To Cook With Coconut Oil

Unsure how to cook with coconut oil? Here are some tips that will help you learn how to cook with this healthy fat!

When we started our real food journey one of the first changes we made was to switch out our cooking oil (canola oil) for a healthier oil, coconut oil! Cooking with coconut oil isn’t as difficult as it seems. Here are some of the things I’ve learned over the years that have made cooking with coconut oil a pleasure rather than a frustration.

How To Cook With Coconut Oil

Before you learn how to cook with coconut oil, it’s helpful to understand a few facts about this fat.

Unlike most vegetable oils, coconut oil is solid at room temperature. In the cold winter months our coconut oil is as hard as a rock! I have literally hacked away at a block of coconut oil just to get a few shaved pieces out. Thankfully, I have a solution for this problem (which I mention later in this post).

Coconut oil will melt at 76°F. I can’t tell you how many emails I’ve received from readers who were worried about a concerning “liquid” forming on top of the coconut oil that was purchased. Keep calm, this is completely normal! Our coconut oil is in liquid form for most of the whopping two months of summer here in Oregon. Depending on your location coconut oil may likely be liquid unless refrigerated.

Coconut oil has a high smoking point of 350°F. This makes it optimal for almost all cooking. If you’re deep frying I suggest using sustainable sourced palm oil, which has a smoke point of 450°F.

6 Helpful Tips To Help You Learn How To Cook with Coconut Oil

To avoid the need to hack away at your coconut oil you can simply melt it and pour it into ice cube trays (I use this easy push out tray). Refrigerate the coconut oil until it’s solid. Pop the coconut oil cubes out of the tray and store them in an air tight container. As long as your kitchen isn’t too warm the coconut oil cubes will not melt. You can also keep them in the refrigerator if you prefer. These coconut cubes are handy to have on hand when you want to toss a dollop of coconut oil into your pan. This is a tip a learned from Health Starts in the Kitchen!

If you need to melt coconut oil for a recipe the best way to melt it is to heat it over low heat in a saucepan. Coconut oil will liquefy at 76°, so it will melt fairly quickly.

We keep a jar of coconut oil on our stove top always. I usually have something simmering on the stove, so it’s a great spot to keep coconut oil for when you need it. I use this coconut oil for baking so I don’t have to melt it and dirty up a pan.

Did you know you could whip coconut oil? I usually keep a jar of whipped coconut oil in my bathroom but it’s also great in the kitchen. You can easily scoop whipped coconut oil with a spoon without having to hack away at it!

You can use coconut oil in place of butter, shortening and oil in most (if not all) of your baking. Remember, coconut oil will solidify if added to cold ingredients (i.e., eggs and milk) so it’s best to make sure all ingredients in the recipe are at room temperature before you add the coconut oil.

Virgin coconut oil is best but if you don’t like the taste you can use expeller pressed coconut oil instead. Make sure to only use refined coconut oil that has not been processed with chemical solvents.

How To Store Coconut Oil

Unlike most unsaturated oils, coconut oil doesn’t need to be refrigerated. It’s high saturated content is resistant to oxidation!

If you’re like me and you purchase coconut oil by the gallon you may want to transfer some of your coconut oil to a glass jar or smaller container to keep with your kitchen supplies. I don’t have a lot of counter space so this tip helps keep my counters free of clutter.

Where To Buy Coconut Oil

You can find coconut oil at most grocery stores, just make sure it’s pure, organic and sustainably harvested. We use Nutiva and Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil in our kitchen.

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About the author: Hi! I’m Tiffany – aka Coconut Mama. I’m a real food mama of three coconut babies. I’m passionate about traditional and healing foods. As a true believer in the health benefits of coconut, I use coconut products in all my recipes. You can download my free Coconut Flour Recipes E-book here. Thanks for stopping by!

Thank you so much for the FREE e-books! I look forward to reading them and finding out more about how coconut oil can improve our health.
My husband and I have both used coconut oil in our morning oats for the past few years without knowing that there were so many other ways to use and benefit from the product.
I also look forward to reading your newsletter……
Thank you again.

You are absolutely right Tiffany, extra virgin, organic coconut oil is the best you can use, some of the cheaper varieties on offer have been shown not to be of much nutritional value. Some great tips on cooking with the oil thanks.

A question….but first….Thank you for your work! I am so exited to use the coconut flour I just bought! Not able to eat eggs. I recently learned that psylium husks are a great “binding” agent for gluten free baking because they don’t crumble like guar and zanthum. I tasted sprouted millet and quinoa bread done with psylium and it is amazing. Have you ever tried psylium in your coco baking? If not…do you have any suggestions on amounts? This could be really big for people who need to be vegetarian and gluten free for health concerns. Thank you!

Hi everyone, I had eared so much about how healthy is coconut oil, so I bought one to try, my questions: can I use it for everything I cook? Rice, meat, potatoes, etc? will it live a coconut taste? Thanks im advance for the help.

Good article. Very helpful and informative. I just bought some to use for making granola bars and I’m going to use the ice-cube tray trick. I will also try using it in some other recipes in place of butter. Thanks.

Mine is more of a question. I used liquid coconut oil in a baking recipe, since the bottle states for baking. The recipe came out greasy. ( Waffles called for 1/3 C. oil) I thought 1T. would be enough, after trying it. My question is, do you use less of coconut oil vs other oils in a recipe? It seems a little goes a long way. Please advise. Sue

Hi where can I get refined coconut oil to cook with that doesn’t taste like anything for I don’t like the taste period? I’m also looking for this to not be done via harsh chemicals? If you could help me that would be amazing. ?

I have been using it on my toast. Taste much better then butter. I made the best biscuits ever. I also cooked eggs in it and used it to saute veggies for my lentil soup. Very good. Thank you for all your information. I will get more creative in using it.

Hi….are you suppose to use unrefined coconut oil….refined is the bleached out one ????…..I read where you could use to deep fry …example french fries etc….Is there a danger to use in frying …I am seeing it both ways …could you please explain

I’ve recently been using coconut oil for frying/ sauteing fish and vegetables, etc, I have a viking gas stove with a high volume exhaust system.. I am trying to keep the smoke at a minimum but the oil when volatile forms gasses that when cools and reform sticks too everything. I have started to get a rancid smell in the exhaust, cabinet walls get covered(figuratively speaking) and gross oil in grease collection pans. Never happed with EVO. What am i doing wrong??

How do I know when the coconut oil is no longer usable. I fried some wings in it and the color is like an dark Amber. Can I still use this oil or is it burnt. I did not have a thermometer to see if it was at 350 degrees.

This is awesome. I picked up two bottles of the stuff at my local Indian grocery just today, and I can’t wait to make cashew butter with it. Massive thanks for the melting tips, this stuff is super weird! Greetings from Switzerland

Hi Tiffany! This is really great! I also bought your suggested pop-out trays. I live in Oregon, too — hey, the weather has been so hot, even with my air conditioning my oil is liquid. I bought my first jar of coconut oil at Thrive Market, online. They deliver free if you buy $50 worth of food. Amazing prices, all organic and free traded. Highly recommend this place.

Hello,
How can you know if chemicals have been used to process the oil? Does it say anywherd jn the jar? I use the brand spectrum. I know you dont like it but I am not sure why. It is because of the flavor or because it is processed with chemicals.?

I have never used coconut oil before. I know very little about it. However, I had heard one should use organic. The one I selected is brand name: Spectrum. Label info: expeller pressed, organic, virgin, coconut oil, unrefined. What do you think of this selection?

I think coconut oil is gods gift, but I do think you need to re read the differences between refined and unrefined oil…it is the unrefined oil that does not have additives…here is a link to only one of the many many articles out there

Hi Jo~ As I mentioned above and in the article, Virgin (unrefined) is best but if you don’t like the taste of virgin coconut oil for your cooking you can use expeller pressed organic coconut oil. The brand I use (tropical traditions) doesn’t use chemical solvents or additives.

Hi, thanks for your posts, I’ve learned a lot! Coconut oil is very new to me and my family, so I would like to ask about frying in it. Last night I made fries fried in coconut oil (your recipe) and they were delicious!!! Now I have lots of oil I used for fries, and I wonder if you would suggest reusing it. With canola oil, I would always throw it away (greasecycle, actually), but if I could reuse the coconut oil, that would bring down the cost. Of course, I wouldn’t want to do it if it’s unhealthy. Thanks

The simplest way I found to melt coconut oil is to place the jar in a pan or large bowl and fill with very hot tap water. Let it set for a few minutes and shake. You may need to weight it down with something heavy to keep plastic bottles from floating.

I read somewhere online the other day that coconut oil is “not” good for you in a daily basis that it’s one of the “bad” saturated fats. I come to your page everyday and just wanted to double check with you on it being used everyday. I’m tired of the junk being sold at the stores, I’m too scared to use anything on my son during bath time, rash, etc. He’s had eczema since birth and nothing has helped. We’ve tried all the over the counter things plus tons of prescription medications and nothing is helping. I’m looking for all natural, homemade products which is why I stalk your site on the daily.

Hi just wanted to tell you my friends son also had eczema which was not relieved by anything. But after testing for food
allergies they found out he was allergic to some foods. Once the foods were eliminated from his diet his eczema is also gone. Please also check for food allergies as in some cases eczema is caused by food allergies and doctors fail to make that connection.

Just wondering how long coconut oil remains fresh and useable..several years ago I had a 5 gallon pail of coconut oil…after several years, it started to form tough little beads of oil. Recently I purchased a small container that started to form these little beads after only a few weeks of purchase…is this a quality related issue, age or what?

I just tried oil pulling for the first time. WOW!!! My mouth feels so clean and fresh! I could only hold the oil for 10 minutes…going to try to work up to the 20 minutes! I am so glad I found this site!!!

I am new to using coconut oil, I was told to use unrefined that is not treated with chemicals but in the article about cooking with it you said use refined can you let me know which one I am to use I am getting confused. Thanks

Hello, I love coconut oil and have used Nutiva in the past. I recently purchased it in their new packaging and the label now says that it is bottled in a facility that also bottles peanut oil. Not sure if the previous packaging said that but I read every label and don’t recall seeing it on there. Is there any coconut oil out there that is not processed alongside peanut oil? My daughter is highly allergic.

“Virgin coconut oil is best but if you don’t like the taste you can use expeller pressed coconut oil instead. Make sure to only use refined coconut oil that has not been processed with chemical solvents.”

Unrefined is best, but if you don’t like to use virgin (unrefined) coconut oil for your day to day cooking you can use a refined coconut oil. I use expeller pressed coconut oil from Tropical Traditions. They refine their coconut oil without chemicals or solvents.

I need advice, my husband dislikes the ” candy” taste of virgin coconut oil in my stews, fried foods etc. I began to use
Luanna as it gave no such taste but I now found out it is not as healthy. Can you suggest any type of coconut oil that will give us the health benefits without the ” candy ” taste?

No, you must re-warm all goods made with coconut oil in the oven (non-convection). If you heat it up in the microwave, the coconut oil molecules quickly break down into sorbetroil, which is extremely carcinogenic.

I’ve been lucky and had no hassles switching almost all oil use to coconut- I love the stuff! I sautée with it, roast with it, bake with it, and pan fry with it (pastured eggs lightly fried in coconut oil – out of this world yummy!). Note with baking, when using as a butter sub, it can be a bit drier than butter so I usually add a tiny bit more of whatever liquid is in the recipe to compensate.
I love the ice cube portions idea and will try it soon!
Are there any tips or tricks with whipping it?

We get our organic unrefined cold pressed coconut oil at Costco – $17 here for 54 ounces! I hope they never stop carrying it bc it’s fantastic in quality and price!

About The Coconut Mama
Hi! I'm Tiffany - aka Coconut Mama. I'm a real food mama of three coconut babies. I'm passionate about traditional and healing foods. As a true believer in the health benefits of coconut, I use coconut products in almost all my recipes. You can download my free Coconut Flour Recipes E-book here. Thanks for stopping by!

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